Toy figures, including dolls and such, are well known in the art and extremely popular among children of a broad age range. As a result, a virtually endless variety of toy figures have been provided which resemble human toy figures or dolls as well as toy figures which are fanciful or contrived in their appearance. Correspondingly, a great variety of toy figures have been provided which perform various human activities such as walking, talking, crawling, speaking and singing to name but a few.
One of the more popular types of action figures is found in a class of toys which may be generally described as sports action figures. Such toy figures typically attempt to perform various motions associated with a sport activity. Thus, toy figures have been provided which skate, swim, bowl, golf and execute a football kick. In most, the basic mechanism involved utilizes a spring-loaded limb and trigger release. In such toy figures, the user cocks the spring-loaded limb to a locking position and thereafter operates a trigger release allowing the spring-loaded limb to move abruptly through a range of motion which results in actions such as kicking a ball. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,633,456 issued to Norberg sets forth a FIGURE TOY having a toy figure wearing the clothing the equipment of a football player and having a spring-loaded pivotally secured leg. The player executes a rapid kicking motion against a ball to simulate a football punt. The figure's arms are also articulated and support the to-be-kicked ball. Means are provided for timing the dropping of the ball from the hands into the path of the swinging foot to execute the kick.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,616 issued to Pelfrey sets forth a TOY FIELD GOAL KICKER having a leg which supports a pivotal knee joint and pivotal foot to ankle joint. A spring-loaded mechanism is operative within the knee joint to urge the lower leg and foot to a forward position. A trigger latch secures the knee joint in a cocked position prior to kicking. Upon release, the lower leg and foot are driven forwardly and rapidly through the ball position resulting in a field goal type kick.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,513 issued to Isaacson, et al. sets forth a ARTICULATED FIGURE TOY having a torso rotatable at the waist about a vertical axis which is spring-biased toward a forward orientation. A spring-biased arm is rotatably mounted with respect to the torso to enable the arm and torso to be manually moved in one direction and then released to affect a quick full body movement in the opposite direction. Embodiments are shown for sport activities including golf, tennis, baseball and bowling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,518 issued to Luke sets forth a KICKING DOLL WITH DETACHABLE TRIGGER MEANS having a toy figure resembling a soccer player supporting a pivotally secured spring-biased leg to form a kicking leg. A latch mechanism within the toy figure secures the leg in a drawn spring-loaded position. A separate and removable trigger apparatus is capable of engaging the toy figure and releasing the kicking action.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,264 issued to Munro, et al. sets forth a TABLE GAME WITH MAGNETIC PLAYING ELEMENT having a hockey game in which players are movable through a pivotal range of motion and inn which a playing element such as a hockey puck is formed to support a magnet therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,551,050 issued to Parsons sets forth a DOLL having magnets supported within the palm portion of the doll's hands. Various metal articles are capable being "held" by the doll due to their attraction to the palm magnets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,219 issued to Price sets forth an ACTION CHARACTER FIGURE having a telescoping torso and lower body portion together with a spring-loaded arm mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,008 issued to Price sets forth a WRESTLER CHARACTER FIGURE having a pair of pivotally supported arms utilizing a spring pivot mechanism which facilitates the execution of a wrestler's throw of an opponent from above the head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,318 issued to Tsiknopoulos, et al. sets forth a FIGURE WITH ROTATABLE TORSO AND VERTICALLY SWINGING ARMS having a pair of arms secured to the torso for relative movement with respect thereto in an upward direction about the shoulders when centrifugal force is applied to the torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,381 issued to MacBain, et al. sets forth an ANIMATED FIGURE TOY HAVING A UNITARY MULTIPLE FUNCTION SPRING supported within an upper torso of a toy figure and operatively coupled to a pivotally supported limb.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,982 issued to Lemelson, et al. sets forth an ACTIVITY DOLL having one or more pivotally mounted limbs arranged for movement from a normally retracted position at the figure's side to a front body or higher location. A spring-loaded trigger release mechanism allows the arms to be released against the spring mechanism to provide rapid movement thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,661 issued to Weiser sets forth an ANIMATED TOY DOLL having a movable arm adapted to be moved automatically in a rapid downward chopping motion and a movable leg adapted to be moved automatically in a downward and upward kicking motion. A manual release is provided for executing limb movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,523 issued to Aoki, et al. sets forth an ACTION CHARACTER FIGURE ASSEMBLY having a pair of housings each defining an outer end with a manipulatable knob member supported thereon and a forward end supporting a toy figure. Apparatus is provided for causing the toy figure to respond to manipulation of the outer knob by the user to participate in a physical combat or the like.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have provided improvement in the art and have, in some instances, enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore improved, interesting and exciting action toy figures.